Material loading apparatus



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' f fares Z. eenyez: W y Q4 A Patented Sept. 1, 1953 MATERIAL LOADINGAPPARATUS Charles N. Bebinger, New Philadelphia, Ohio, assignor to JoyManufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationNovember 28, 1947, Serial No. 788,703

6 Claims.

This invention relates to loading apparatus and more particularly toimprovements in loading apparatus having a vibratory gathering head forgathering the loose material to be loaded. From one aspect, theinvention relates to improved counterbalancing means for the vibratorygathering head whereby the unbalanced forces are kept at a minimum,thereby substantially reducing vibrations set up within the machineduring its operation.

In mobile loading machines, such as are used in loading loose materialin underground mines, not only are loading eiciency and ease inrnaneuverability necessary, but also extreme compactness is essentialdue to the relatively restricted spaces in which the machine mustoperate. In order to obtain compactness and efficiency in the gatheringof loose material in underground mines, a machine of the vibratorygathering head type, more or less similar to that of the presentinvention, was developed by me, as disclosed in Patent No. 2,234,071,granted March 4, 1941.

The present invention contemplates improvements over the previousmachine disclosed in the patent above referred to, in part in theprovision of improved counterbalancing means associated with thevibratory gathering head, whereby anl improved smoothness of operationand an increase in overall efficiency may be obtained, and

in part in the provision of improved shovel supporting means, wherebydependence on hydraulic shovel positioning means may be replaced byimproved mechanical support, and occasion for shovel readjustment may beminimized. By the improved construction and arrangement of parts in mypresent invention not only are unbalanced forces kept at a minimum, butalso the counterbalancing means is arranged and mounted in a novelmanner so that extreme compactness is obtained. Due to the novelarrangement of the counterweight means close to the center of gravity ofthe head, an effective minimization of vibration is made possible.Further, by the provision of the guiding and supporting means for theforward gathering end of the head, the head is adequately guided, andhas its penetrating edge maintained steadily in desired relation to thebottom.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved loadingapparatus constituting a substantial improvement over previously knowngenerally similar apparatus. Another object is to provide an improvedloading apparatus of the vibratory gathering head type whereby loosematerial may be easily 4and relatively smoothly gathered and loaded by asubstantially continuous operation. Still another object is to providean improved mobile loadingmachine especially designed for use in loadingloose material in underground mines. A still further object is toprovide a machine of the vibratory gathering head type having improvedmeans for keeping the unbalanced forces at a minimum, therebyeffectively reducing the vibration set up Within the machine as a resultof the vibratory action of the gathering head. Yet another object is toprovide improved counterweight means associated with the vibratorygathering head in a novel manner for substantially reducing vibration. Afurther object is to provide a novel and extremely com-pact arrangementof counterweight means Within the body of the machine in adjacency tothe center of gravity of the loading head. Another object is to provideimproved mechanism for operatively connecting the counterweight to theloading head, together with improved actuating means for the loadinghead. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will,however, hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown for purposes of illustrationone form which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Figs. l and 2, taken together, constitute a plan View of a loadingmachine in which an illustrative form of the invention is embodied.

Figs. 3 and 4, taken together, constitute a side elevational view of themachine shown in Figs. l and 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view, with parts of the vibratory gatheringand elevating head removed and parts broken away and in section.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view takensubstantially on line 6-6 oi Figs. l and 2, with parts omitted.

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially online 1 1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on lines9 9 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on linelll-I0 of Fig. 6.

Fig. l1 is a substantially horizontal sectional view taken on lines II-I I of Fig. 7.

Fig. l2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken substantially on line|2-l2 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on linel3l3 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 14 is -a somewhat schematic view of the vibratory gathering andelevating head and assocated counterweight means.

The improved loading apparatus, as shown in the drawings, is of thetractor mounted, frontal attack type, although, evidently, the inventionmay be embodied in loading machines mounted in other manners and may beused for purposes other than loading.

The machine generally comprises a mobile base including a main frame Icarried by conventional crawler treads 2, 2 at the opposite sides of theframe, and these crawler treads are driven and `may be controlled toeffect propulsion and steering of the machine in a well known manner.Carried above the main frame is a vibratory gathering and elevating head3 having,` as shown in Fig. l, a relatively wide front gathering headportion 4 and a relatively narrow troughlike portion `5 extendingrearwardly of the widened portion and arranged to gather and elevate thematerial to be loaded and to discharge the material ontoV a reardischarge conveyor 6 carried by a rearward projection 'I of the mainframe I. The front widened gathering head portion 4 has a serrated frontpenetrating edge at 8, and is formed with forwardly diverging side walls9 whieh converge into the side walls I8 of the narrow troughlike portion5 in the manner fully described in my Patent No. 2,234,071 abovereferred to. As shown `in Figs. 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13, the troughlikeportion 5 of thegathering and elevating head is provided with strips ofresilient material, along portions of the sides and bottom thereof, asindicated at I I, such strips preferably composed of rubber impregnatedmaterial, for providing a high `coeiicient of friction and to attaingreater resiliency for reducing the disintegration of the material beingloaded. The gathering and elevating head 3 is mounted for oscillatorymovement on pairs of forward and rearward hanger arms I2 and I3 (Figs. 6and 11i) of equal length andarranged in parallel relation and pivotallymounted at their upper ends at I4 on the vertical sides of a tiltableupper frame I5 and pivotally connected at their lowerends at I5 to thesides of the gathering and elevating head. The rear discharge conveyoris pivotally mounted atI IT onthe rearward projection of the main frameI to swing horizontally and vertically relativeto the gathering andelevating head, and this conveyor isl drivenby an independent motor I8through `suitable transmission connections I9. The specific structure ofthe rear discharge conveyor and its swinging and tilting means may begenerally similar to' those described in the patent above referred to,and since they do not per se enter into the present invention, furtherdescription thereof is herein unnecessary.

In accordance with this invention, carried centrally by the upper frameI5 of the machine beneath the vibratory gathering and elevating head isa motor 2U, having keyed to the forward end of its power shaft 2| abevel pinion 22 (see Fig. 11)

meshing with a bevel gear 23 keyed to a transverse shaft 24 suitablyjournale'd within a gear housing 25 carriedby the upper frame I5. Keyedto: and driven by the transverse shaft 24 is a spur pinion 26 meshingwith a spur gear 2l keyed to a transverse shaft 28, likewise suitablyjournaled within the gear housing 25. The shaft 28 projects horizontallythrough the sides of the gear housing and has formed at the projectingsides thereof eccentric or crank portions 29 which are engaged byparallel connecting rods 3) arranged exteriorly of the housing at thesides thereof. The forward ends of these connecting rods are pivotallyconnected to a transverse shaft 3I. The shaft 3i is suitably journaledat its opposite ends within crank arms 32, 32 (Fig. 13) secured toaligned transverse shafts 33, 33 suitably journaled within the sides ofthe upper frame l5. Secured to the outer ends of the shafts 33 at theouter sides of the upper frame and spaced with respect to the crank arms32 are crank arms 34. The shafts 33 provide the pivots 35 for the crankarms 32 and 34 on the sides of the upper frame. The crank yarms 34 arepivotally connected at 36 to links 3?, in turn pivotally connected at 38to arms 39 integral with the front hanger arms I2. Thus, when theeccentrics or cranks 2S are rotated by the motor 2D, the gathering andelevating head 3 is rapidly oscillated back and forth on its armmountings, for a purpose to be later explained, through the connectingrods 30, crank arms 32 and 34, links 3'( and arms 39 integral with thefront hanger arms I2. The gathering and elevating head is rapidlyoscillated with relatively short strokes of uniform length.

The tiltable upper frame I5 on which the vibratory gathering andelevating head 3 is mounted is pivoted at 4Q at its rearward end on themain frame I to swing in a vertical plane relative thereto, thereby toraise and lower the front penetrating edge 8 of the front widenedgathering portion 4 of the head. 'Ihe means for swinging the upper frameabout its pivot 40 comprises a pair of upright extensible hydraulicjacks 4I arranged at the opposite sides of the forward portion of themain frame. IIhese jacks include cylinders 42 pivoted at their lowerends on the main frame and contain reciprocable plungers 43 pivoted attheir upper ends to the sides of the upper frame I5. By trapping liquidin these jacks, the tiltable frame may be locked in adjusted position.The upper'frame has guides 44 slidably engaging arcuate guideways 45 yonthe forward lportion of the main frame for guiding the upper frame as itis swung in a vertical direction about its pivot. The pivoted upperframe and its swinging means are similar to those described in the abovementioned patent. vrThe guides 44 have outer lateral projections 46 attheir tops which engage plungers 4l guided in vertical cylinders'secured to the main frame. Springs 49 in the cylinders act on theplungers to urge the latter upwardly, thereby to support a major portionof the weight of the swinging frame when the latter is in its loweredposition. When the shovel is raised, the plungers do not engage theprojections 46. By virtue of the-fact that the springs receive the majorportion of the weight of the swingingframe when the shovel is lowered,lleakage from the cylinders 42 due to high pressures in the hydraulicjacks 4I is eliminated.

In this improved construction, to prevent the front penetrating edge 8of the widened front portion y4 of the head from digging into the oor,the forward part of frame I5 has forward side projections 5I extendingbeneath the head and provided with bottom floor engaging shoes 52 andupper guide portions 53 engaging the sides of the forward widenedportion of the head for guiding the latter during its oscillation.Thesefloor engaging shoes 52 serve to prevent the penetrating edge ofthe head from running into the floor in the lowered position of thehead, in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

Now referring to the improved counterbalancing means, generallydesignated 55, for offsetting the unbalanced forces of the vibratinggathering and elevating head 3 to keep vibration of the machine at aminimum, it will be noted that arranged beneath the vibratory head onthe upper frame I5, in advance of the main frame, is an oscillatorycounterbalancing weight 56. This weight is arranged in substantialparallelism with the vibratory head and is of a substantial width andlength, as shown in Fig. 5, providing a relatively flat construction toenable location thereof close tothe bottom of the vibratory head in therestricted space provided, as shown. This weight is pivotally mounted atits rear end on the transverse shaft 3| and at its forward end on atransverse shaft 51 secured to arms 58 pivotally mounted at 59 on thesides of the upper frame I5. The bottom of the upper frame is cut awayat 60 to clear the sides and ends of the weight, thereby to permitoscillatory motion of the weight with respect thereto. The weight ishollowed out at its upper side to receive a heavy mass 6I, such as leador other heavy metal. In this novel construction, the counterweight isof substantially equal mass with the gathering and elevating head 3, andis arranged to oscillate in a path extending in the same generaldirection as the path of oscillation of the head, and its center ofgravity and the center of gravity of the vibratory head lie in commonplanes parallel to the parallel arms I2 and I3, and these centers ofgravity are relatively close to each other. Thus, a nearly perfectbalance between the head and counterweight is afforded, keeping theunbalanced forces at a minimum. Of course, with the arrangement shown,the instantaneous directions of motion of the head and counterweight arein opposition, to cancel out the unbalanced forces. Anothercounterweight 62 is keyed to the shaft 28 to counterbalance the off"-set crank portions 29 and the weight supported thereby. The connectionsbetween the crank pins 29 and the head 3 are such that rearwardmovements of the head always have an upward component while the forwardmovements of the head have a downward component.

The general mode of operation of the loading apparatus may be describedas follows: The loading machine may be propelled about the mine andmaneuvered with respect to the work by the crawler treads 2 in a wellknown manner. During transport, the forward ends of the gathering andelevating head 3 and the tiltable upper frame I5 are held raised abovethe floor level by the hydraulic jacks 4I, and when the working place isreached, the jacks may be operated to lower the frame shoes 52 intocontact with the floor to bring the penetrating edge 8 of the head intoadjacency with the oor. The motor 20 may then be operated to impart,through the arms and links, a rapid oscillatory motion to the head in adirection generally lengthwise thereof, and, concurrently, the crawlertreads may be perated to advance the head toward the material to beloaded, to feed the widened front head portion 4 beneath the loosematerial. As the head is rapidly oscillated, the loose material isgathered thereon and moved rearwardly and upwardly along the troughportion to discharge at its rear end on the rear discharge conveyor 6,by which the material is conveyed rearwardly of the machine to asuitable point of disposal. The vibratory action of the gathering andelevating head 3, resulting from the coordination of the relatively highspeed and short stroke reciprocatory movement with the angle anddisposition of the hanger' arms I2 and I3 produces a 'gathering andelevating motion which causes the loose material to move steadily andrelatively smoothly along the inclined trough portion 5, thus reducingdisintegration of the material; and due to the novel counterbalancingmeans associated with the head, such vibratory action of the headproduces comparatively little vibration within the machine as a whole.The counterbalancing means so offsets the unbalanced forces resultingfrom the vibratory action of the head that there is little vibrationtransmitted to the frame of the machine, thereby enabling the latter tomove with comparative ease under the propulsion of the crawler treadsduring the gathering and loading operation. As the connecting rods 3Dare rapidly oscillated by the cranks 29, the gathering and elevatinghead is rapidly oscillated, and during the rearward stroke of the head,the material on the head is carried rearwardly and upwardly; and duringthe forward stroke of the head, the latter passes beneath the materialthereon, and during such head oscillation, the material is thrown aslight distance upwardly from the head bottom during the rearward strokeso that the head may move forwardly relative to the suspended materialduring its forward stroke, and when the end of the forward stroke isreached, the material has again settled down on the head in such manneras again to be moved rearwardly and upwardly during the rearward stroke.Thus, the rear stroke of the head imparts sufficient momentum to thematerial to carry it rearwardly and upwardly a slight distance while thematerial is freely falling during the forward stroke of the head. Thusthe improved vibratory gathering and elevating head rapidly andcontinuously gathers and conveys the material with substantially nodisintegration, and the material moves in a substantially steady streamrearwardly and upwardly along the trough to discharge. Since the man-rner in which the gathering and elevating head 3 operates to gather andconvey the material isfully described in the above mentioned patent,further description of its mode of operation is herein unnecessary.

As a result of this invention, an improved loading apparatus is providedwhich has not only relatively large loading capacity and ease in.maneuverability, and compactness, but which` also operates smoothly andwith relatively little vibration, resulting in more economicaloperation. By mounting the vibratory gathering and elevating head in themanner disclosed, the material to be loaded is moved substantiallycontinuously and relatively smoothly toward its elevated dischargeposition. By the provision of the improved counterbalancing meansassociated with the head, the unbalanced forces are kept at a minimum,thereby substantially reducing vibrations set up within the machineduring its operation. By mounting and arranging the counterbalancingmeans in the manner disclosed, close to the center of gravityof thegathering and conveying head, not only is vibration kept at a minimum,but also extreme compactness is attained. The shoes and guides on theframe projections beneath the vibratory head prevent the penetratingedge of the head from digging into the iioor when in lowered position,and serve adequately to guide the for ward portion of the head duringits operation. Other manners of use and advantages of the 9 of gravityof said conveyor, said counterweight supported by a pivoted linkparallel with said rst mentioned link and by said second mentioned linkat the opposite side of the pivot of the latter from said conveyor sothat said counterweight has a similar Vbratory motion in opposition toand of substantially the same amplitude as the vibratory motion of saidconveyor thereby to reduce vibrations set up Within the apparatus duringits operation.

CHARLES N. BEBINGER.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,361,653 Wilkins Dec. 7, 1920 1,495,850 Jacquelin May 27,1924 1,641,435 Jacobsen Sept. 6, 1927 Number Number Name Date Pray Oct.4, 1927' Petersen Aug. 12, 1930 Ross Apr. 12, 1932 Sloane Apr. 12, 1938Cartlidge July 12, 1938 Sloane May 7, 1940 Bebinger 4, 1941 OverstromApr. 14, 1942 Bergmann Apr. 20, 1943 Holstein Aug. 8, 1944 OverstromSept. 26, 1944 Doberstein Nov. 5, 1946 Sinden Feb. 28, 1950 Sabes Feb.26, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. l, 1922

